Director, Author, And Advocate, Crystal R. Emery Has Died At 65
Photos: YouTube Screenshots NEW HAVEN, Conn. (May 11, 2026) — Crystal R. Emery, an award‑winning producer, director, author, and nationally recognized STEM and disability advocate whose work championed equity and inclusion across film, theater, publishing and education, died Tuesday. She was 65. Emery passed away at Yale New Haven Hospital, Saint Raphael Campus in New Haven, CT after a long series of illnesses. A longtime resident of the New Haven area, she was the founder and chief executive officer of URU, The Right to Be, Inc., a New Haven–based 501(c)(3) content production company dedicated to addressing social issues through film, theater, publishing, educational media, and other arts‑based initiatives. A graduate of the University of Connecticut, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree, and The New School for Public Engagement, where she received a master’s degree in media studies, Emery built a multifaceted career in theater and film. She apprenticed with the late Lloyd Richards, the renowned theater director of The Piano Lesson, and worked under the tutelage of award‑winning film director Bill Duke (A Rage in Harlem). As a filmmaker, Emery explored issues including race, diversity, equity, inclusion, social justice, and STEM education. A member of the Producers Guild of America and New York Women in Film & Television, she directed The Deadliest Disease in America and Black Women in Medicine, both of which aired nationally on public television. In 2016, Black Women in Medicine met all Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences eligibility requirements for consideration in the Best Documentary Feature category and later screened internationally in Ethiopia and Germany as part of the American Film Showcase, the U.S. State Department’s premier film diplomacy program. Emery also launched the national campaign “Changing the Face of Medicine” alongside former U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Joycelyn Elders to help increase the number of Black physicians in the United States. A subsequent initiative, “Changing the Face of STEM”, encouraged young people to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. For this work, Emery was named an AAAS IF/THEN® Ambassador by the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and her likeness was among 120 life‑size 3D‑printed statues featured in the Smithsonian Institution’s 2019 exhibition #IfThenSheCan – The Exhibit. Aligned with that mission, she created the virtual‑reality game “You Can’t Be What You Can’t See”, allowing young people to explore STEM careers through immersive experience. Among her many honors were Good Housekeeping’s 50 Over 50: Women Who Are Changing the World, the Congressional Black Caucus Health Brain Trust Award in Journalism and recognition as a Rebecca Minkoff Superwoman in 2018. She also received an honorary Doctor of Letters degree from the University of Connecticut. Emery was the author of numerous works, including Against All Odds: Celebrating Black Women in Medicine; Master Builders of the Modern World: Reimagining the Face of STEM; the children’s book series Little Man; and her 2025 debut novel Without A Trace. Her writing appeared in national outlets including TIME, Variety, Ms. and HuffPost. She was also the author of Stat!: An Action Plan for Replacing the Broken System of Recruitment and Retention of Underrepresented Minorities in Medicine with a New Paradigm, published by the National Academy of Medicine. A sought‑after speaker, Emery delivered keynote addresses for organizations including the National Security Agency, the National Institutes of Health, the National Organization on Disability, and RespectAbility. In 2018, she made history as the first Black woman commencement speaker for the University of Connecticut’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. In 2025, Emery embarked on a career in stand‑up comedy. She appeared on shows hosted by comedians Michelle Buteau and D.L. Hughley and performed across the east coast as well as a solo show in New Haven later that year. A quadriplegic who lived with multiple chronic illnesses, including Charcot‑Marie‑Tooth disease, Emery consistently rejected limitations imposed by circumstance. Her life and work stood as a testament to resilience, creativity, and the triumph of the human spirit. For more information, visit www.crystalremery.com. A memorial celebration of life will be announced at a later date.
Black News 
Photos: YouTube Screenshots
NEW HAVEN, Conn. (May 11, 2026) — Crystal R. Emery, an award‑winning producer, director, author, and nationally recognized STEM and disability advocate whose work championed equity and inclusion across film, theater, publishing and education, died Tuesday. She was 65.
Emery passed away at Yale New Haven Hospital, Saint Raphael Campus in New Haven, CT after a long series of illnesses. A longtime resident of the New Haven area, she was the founder and chief executive officer of URU, The Right to Be, Inc., a New Haven–based 501(c)(3) content production company dedicated to addressing social issues through film, theater, publishing, educational media, and other arts‑based initiatives.
A graduate of the University of Connecticut, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree, and The New School for Public Engagement, where she received a master’s degree in media studies, Emery built a multifaceted career in theater and film. She apprenticed with the late Lloyd Richards, the renowned theater director of The Piano Lesson, and worked under the tutelage of award‑winning film director Bill Duke (A Rage in Harlem).
As a filmmaker, Emery explored issues including race, diversity, equity, inclusion, social justice, and STEM education. A member of the Producers Guild of America and New York Women in Film & Television, she directed The Deadliest Disease in America and Black Women in Medicine, both of which aired nationally on public television. In 2016, Black Women in Medicine met all Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences eligibility requirements for consideration in the Best Documentary Feature category and later screened internationally in Ethiopia and Germany as part of the American Film Showcase, the U.S. State Department’s premier film diplomacy program.
Emery also launched the national campaign “Changing the Face of Medicine” alongside former U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Joycelyn Elders to help increase the number of Black physicians in the United States. A subsequent initiative, “Changing the Face of STEM”, encouraged young people to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. For this work, Emery was named an AAAS IF/THEN® Ambassador by the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and her likeness was among 120 life‑size 3D‑printed statues featured in the Smithsonian Institution’s 2019 exhibition #IfThenSheCan – The Exhibit. Aligned with that mission, she created the virtual‑reality game “You Can’t Be What You Can’t See”, allowing young people to explore STEM careers through immersive experience.
Among her many honors were Good Housekeeping’s 50 Over 50: Women Who Are Changing the World, the Congressional Black Caucus Health Brain Trust Award in Journalism and recognition as a Rebecca Minkoff Superwoman in 2018. She also received an honorary Doctor of Letters degree from the University of Connecticut.
Emery was the author of numerous works, including Against All Odds: Celebrating Black Women in Medicine; Master Builders of the Modern World: Reimagining the Face of STEM; the children’s book series Little Man; and her 2025 debut novel Without A Trace. Her writing appeared in national outlets including TIME, Variety, Ms. and HuffPost. She was also the author of Stat!: An Action Plan for Replacing the Broken System of Recruitment and Retention of Underrepresented Minorities in Medicine with a New Paradigm, published by the National Academy of Medicine.
A sought‑after speaker, Emery delivered keynote addresses for organizations including the National Security Agency, the National Institutes of Health, the National Organization on Disability, and RespectAbility. In 2018, she made history as the first Black woman commencement speaker for the University of Connecticut’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.
In 2025, Emery embarked on a career in stand‑up comedy. She appeared on shows hosted by comedians Michelle Buteau and D.L. Hughley and performed across the east coast as well as a solo show in New Haven later that year.
A quadriplegic who lived with multiple chronic illnesses, including Charcot‑Marie‑Tooth disease, Emery consistently rejected limitations imposed by circumstance. Her life and work stood as a testament to resilience, creativity, and the triumph of the human spirit.
For more information, visit www.crystalremery.com. A memorial celebration of life will be announced at a later date.
